Refrigerator construction



Sept. 19, 1950 c. J. WAGNER 2,522,730

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 15, 1948 J 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.|.

INVENTOR.

CARL J. WAGNER ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1950 c. J. WAGNER REFRIGERATOR cousmuc'rxou 2 Sheefs-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1948 III. P 111111 I- INVENTOR. CARL J.WAGNER ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION Carl J. Wagner, Detroit, Mich.

' Application March 15, 1948, Serial No.'14,826

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator and more particularly to a combination ice and mechanical refrigerator designed primarily for use in house trailers.

. It is an object of the present invention to pro vide a combined ice and mechanical refrigerator including a transverse partition provided in the box at an angle so as to effect circulation of air within the interior of the box.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combined ice and mechanical refrigerator including an evaporator adjacent an upper corner of the box and occupying substantially less than the transverse half of the box, in combination with an air controlling partition extending transversely of the box and inclined downwardly and away from the side of the box at which the evaporator is located, so as to cause a continuous lateral displacement of air as it is circulated within the box by the partition.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ice-supporting tray of novel design.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide, in a combined ice and mechanical refrigerator, an ice-supporting tray extending transversely across the box immediately below an evaporator, the tray being provided with means toprevent damage to the evaporator as a result of shifting of a block of ice on the traydue to motion of the refrigerator.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tray-supporting bracket having a bumper element formed integrally thereon to prevent damage to the box as a result of shifting of ice therein due to motion of the refrigerator.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure '1 is a front elevation of the parts constituting the interior of my improved icebox;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section. of the parts constituting the interior of my improved refrigerator Figure 4- is an enlarged detail side elevation of the air distributing partition and the ice-supporting tray; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5, Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the interior of the icebox is constituted by a lining member H! of box-like form adjacent one upper corner of which is located an evaporator I I which is connected to a suitable mechanical unit for supplying refrigerant thereto; It will be observed that rectly beneath the evaporator H is an ice-suprporting tray l2, details of which are shown in Figure 2. The tray comprises a wire border 13- preferably formed of a heavy' wire and a plu rality of longitudinally extending ice-supportingwires I4. It will be observed that the wires M are arranged in groups and in this instance each construction a maximum amount of the undersurface of the block of ice I5 is exposed while at the same time adequate support is given to. theblock ofice .so that the tendency for the ice to melt and to form depending icicles is'substan tially avoided. I Extending transversely across the tray I2 is an elevated bumper wire l5 which is so positioned as to prevent transverse shifting of the block of It ice l5 into engagement with the evaporator. will be recalled that the present refrigerator was designed primarily for use in a house trailer:

Accordingly, when the trailer is in motionon the highway and when a block of ice such as shownat 15 is present, damageto the evaporator by the ice might otherwisebe caused.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is illustrated an air controlling partition 20 which is inclined downwardly from the front to the back of the refrigeratorv and whose primary function is to;

cause a controlled circulation of air within the interior of the box. For this purpose the'fr'ont edge 2! of the partition is spaced substantially" inward 'from'the front of the casing 10 (or from the door of the box) and the rear edge 22 of the partition is spaced fforwardly from the back wall? of the box. Air cooled by contact with the block of ice moves downwardly into contact with the partition and is directed rearwardly by it where it flows over the rear edge 22 into the lower portion of the box. Air warmed within the lower portion of the box raises and is directed forwardly in the box by the partition 29 where it passes around the forward edge 2| of the partition into the cooled space at the top of the box.

Since the evaporator unit is located at one side of the box and occupies substantially less than half of the transverse width of the box, there is a tendency for air cooled by the evaporator unit to circulate in a vertical plane at one side of the box. The present construction involves the evaporator ll occupies substantially less than" half of the transverse width of the icebox. Di-' means for directing this air laterally in the box so as to render the cooling effect of the air sub stantially uniform. For this purpose the upper surface of the partition inclines downwardly away from the edge of the box in which the evaporator unit is located. The upper surface of the partition is indicated at in Figure l, and it will be observed in this figure that it inciines downwardly from right toleft. This inclination of the air controllingv partition also serves as a means for directing water from melting ice to a drain lip indicated at 26, whence the water flows into a drain outlet pipe 21. As a result of the transverse inclinationrof theupper surface 25 of the partition, a continuous displacement of air circulating in a vertical plane is provided, this displacementi-beingto the. left as seen in Figure l, or in other words away from the side of the box in which the evaporatorunit is located.

The air controlling partitionlllzisz. shownin" some detailin Figured: and'comprises a. lower pan-like element and an upper closure 31. If: desired;. suitable,- insulating material may be provided between the elements. 30 and 3|. The sides of. the pan 30=are provided with inwardly extending I'BCBSSESPSZ; as.seen in Figure 5, into which-t enters: abutments :3 5." f ormed' in the inner wall of theirefrigerator. Thus the partition 20 may be readily removable merely by lifting it upwardly until .thezrecesseszfl; clear the inwardly extending-projections 35. If desired, additional securing means; such for exampleas: screws indi cated at 36, may beprovided.

The iceesupportingzpartition I 2' rests atits for,- ward edge 'on' the elevated edge of the partition. 20,as best'seen in Figure 4.. Atitsrear edgethe ice-supporting partitionrests upon a bracket 40 of particular design. They bracket 40 as H1115:- trated in this figure is adapted to be" secured to the inner lining ofthe refrigerator'as .by'screws 41; It comprises-a vertical portion 42 adapted to'lieflat against the inner surface of the icebox.

At its lower edge the bracket has a forwardly and downwardly inclined portion 43 which serves two" functions. In the firstplace, the rear edgeof the tray l 2 restsupon' thisportion. Inthe'second place, the 'portion extends inwardly a sufficient distance'to'overlie the rear-edge of'the' partition 20 so as to form a drip-guide= for water'formedfl by melting ice; Finally; at its upper'edge the bracket '40 is provided with a forwardly and downwardly extending bumperportion 45 which isadapted'to be engagedby a" block of icesuch as l5"if it'is shiftedlaterally in the icebox due to i motion of the vehicle. The bumper therefore prevents injury to'the lining of theicebox.

Referring-again to Figure 1, a folding shelf!!!" is provided which occupies a portion of'the space 5! in which the ice is-received. The'outer edge 4 of the pivoted shelf is suspended as by a supporting arm 52. When it is desired to place a block of ice in the space 5| which substantially fills this space, the shelf 50 may be pivoted to its upper position as illustrated in dotted lines in this figure.

The air controlling partition 20, as best indicated in Figure 5, is made up of a pan-like lower member 60, anda cover-likeupper member 6| having-depending flanges 62 which fit over the upper edge of the lower member 60. The interior of the structure is provided with insulation as indicated at 63. This prevents the cold air above the. partition 21! chilling its under surface, and thereby prevents condensation of moisture on the lower-surface as warm air rises in the box, and.aiso:prevents, cooling of warm air in the lower portion of the box, which would set up secondary air flow, and interfere with the smooth flow of cooled air downwardly at the rear of the box-'andwarmed air upwardly at the front of: the box.

While as previously statedthe present refrigerator is designed primarily for useinhouse trailers, in which case it will be usedzas-an electrical refrigeratorwhen current'is available" and as an ice refrigerator when electric current is not available, the refrigerator may be'equally useful in other applications, such'for example as abuilt-in refrigerator in a house.

The drawings and the foregoing specification constitute a description oftheimprovedrefriger ator construction'in such-full, clear, concise-and exact terms as toenable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope-of which is'indicated by the appended'claim.

What'l claim as my inventionis;

In a refrigerator, a transverse longitudinally inclined partition having its ends spaced from the adjacent refrigerator walls and having re cesses in its side edges, theinner'side wall of said refrigerator being embossed inwardly to provide integral supporting abutments receivable in said recesses "and holding said partition from endwise displacement.

CARL J. WAGNER.

file of this patent:

UNITED. STATES PATENTS Number Name Date;

2,005,057 Summers June 18, 1935 2,010,927 Paulus' Aug. 13, 1935' 2,207,333 Perham July 9, 1940" 2,238,074 Pedigo Apr. 15, 1941 2,238,284 Pedigo Apr. 15, 1941 2,263,522 Scott Nov. 18, 1941" 2,346,184 Pedigo Apr. 11, 1944 

